


Bonding Blues

by humanities_angstiest



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, Shiro is a cockblocker, i wrote this in an hour on a half-baked idea of why lance fights with keith, sorry this is my first contribution to the fandom, that’s really not how things go down even though thats kinda what results
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8666308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanities_angstiest/pseuds/humanities_angstiest
Summary: Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t someone else argue with Keith for once?





	

Keith’s brows were creased in hurt confusion, his mouth a twisted pout. He didn’t understand what he had ever done to Lance. Why was the other boy’s greatest pastime riling him up?

Often after long missions, the red and blue paladins were the only two still awake in the lounge. In the comforting quiet nighttime with its accompanying dulled inhibitions, they tossed questions back and forth on space and home, brushed against their feelings, and gave voice to worries meant to remain as monsters in the night, not following them into the equally dark day.

These bonding moments were nice. Peaceful. Keith started to believe he and Lance were friends.

But every morning after taking three steps forward, they went spiraling back six. The more Keith opened up to Lance, the more ammunition Lance had against him. Keith didn’t want to argue with Lance. But when the long-limbed male provoked him by hinting at something Keith shared in the night that was meant to stay between them, he snapped. Just like that, the fighting that characterized their first month in space returned.

 

* * * * * *

 

Lance lay on his bed, retreating under his blankets after fighting with Keith again. He always had a stomachache after fighting with Keith, a tight knot of guilt and regret and self-directed anger nestling beneath his ribs. This time he felt worse. It may be in no small part due to the liquid frustration building in the corner of Keith’s eyes before he angrily stormed away from the inconsiderate taunting Lance initiated.

Back on Earth, Lance fell asleep impatient for a new day to start, eager to take advantage of the day. Here in space, Lance began to abhor the day. He wanted the night to last as long as possible. He wanted as much time alone with Keith as he could selfishly take and feared the day that followed when he had to undo the progress he made with the pretty violet-eyed paladin sleeping on the couch beside him, body curled tight and arms tucked under his soft hair.

Lance craved these bonding moments at night like he craved the sun after days of floating in dark, cold space as the castle meandered between galaxies.

Along with this craving came another. Lance couldn’t pin this craving down with a single word. “Friendship” was similar to what he craved but nowhere near deep enough. The closest he came to articulating this craving to himself was with imagined experiences: combing his long fingers through thick, black hair; that head of black hair resting on his chest, soft puffs of breath warming his neck, his arms wrapped securely around a narrow waist and resting on a strong back; watching a beautiful red bloom on pale skin as his fingers brush lightly up and down a muscled thigh.

Lance pressed his face into his pillows and released an irritated groan. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t someone else argue with Keith for once? Then he would be free to let this sham rivalry go and instead work on getting closer to Keith.

Of course, he could stop arguing with Keith any time he wanted. Except he couldn’t. Not without letting Shiro down.

Funny, isn’t it? How their leader preferred for them to fight? Lance was sure that Shiro was going to give him the lecture of his life when the black paladin pulled him aside for a private conversation a month ago after his arguing with Keith resulted in them being unable to form Voltron. Instead, Shiro patted him on the back.

“I don’t know if you heard the rumors about Keith back at the Garrison, but it’s true he’s an orphan. He spent some time with my family before enrolling at the Garrison, but before that he was bounced between foster homes and orphanages pretty regularly. Most of the families that took him in were elderly couples whose children had grown up and moved away.”

“O…kay…” Lance had no idea where Shiro was going with this, but his friend didn’t leave him in the dark for long.

“What I’m trying to say is, Keith never had siblings growing up who he could fight with. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, he’s very reserved. I can’t say for certain, but I think his experience was one of getting shuffled back and forth between foster families and orphanages whenever he acted in a way that a normal kid would, except the foster parents had the option to return him to the orphanage unlike their own kids.”

Lance frowned, imagining an eleven year old Keith getting in a fight with a classmate who taunted him for being an orphan and his foster parents sending him back to the orphanage for “behavior problems.” Thinking on his own childhood, Lance could pinpoint at least three instances where he misbehaved terribly — pulling his sister’s hair, hitting a classmate with a toy truck for calling Hunk stupid, stealing money from his dad’s wallet to see a movie with friends — there were so many to choose from, but his parents never had the option to “return” him like a damaged product.

“I’m happy that he finally has someone to argue with without there being consequences. It’s good for Keith to see that you both can fight and we’ll still love him, that he’s still part of the team. That’s all I wanted to say, I guess.”

Lance hates that he understands Shiro’s view because even if he doesn’t care about letting Shiro down by dropping the frenemy act, the last thing he wants is for Keith to lose this connection to the team. With each of his petty squabbles that pushed Keith farther away from him, Keith felt closer to the team that continued to embrace him. Lance only wished it didn’t have to be all on him to argue with Keith.

But he is Blue, and whatever that technically means, he knows it means he puts the team before his own desires. So he’ll continue to pick fights with Keith. He’ll play his role, even if it leaves him feeling blue.

**Author's Note:**

> lol i’m sorry that last line is so bad
> 
> comments give me life!!!


End file.
